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In Case You Missed It:

Favoring ourselves: Biased attribution

Published: March, 2014

Intuition suggests and studies have repeatedly confirmed that
most people, most of the time, overestimate themselves. They
exaggerate the extent of their control over their lives. They
blame personal misfortunes and failures on accident,
circumstances, or other people, and give credit for success to
their own enduring virtues. That is, they tend to attribute
favorable outcomes to causes that are internal (themselves),
stable (for example, personality or ability rather than
circumstances), and global (reflecting their overall competence
or value). They are more likely to suggest external, unstable,
and local causes for unfavorable outcomes. Psychologists call it
a self-serving attributional bias.

A meta-analysis of more than 250 studies including more than
40,000 participants confirms that the bias is pervasive and
powerful, whether tested by hypothetical questions, psychological
experiments, or real-life situations. In the studies covered, the
average person was far more likely to give himself or herself
credit for successful outcomes than to take the blame for
unfavorable results.

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Daily Health Tip

Upgrade your carbs

Many people make carbohydrate-rich foods the foundation of their diets. If you are one of them, choose the right carbs. Switch your pastas and breads from white to whole-grain, swap white potatoes for yams or beans, and explore new grains like quinoa. Aim for high-fiber carbohydrate sources — they tend to be high-quality.